Online video delivery is proving to be big business this decade, with the likes of Netflix and LoveFilm attracting millions of users around the globe looking to access their favourite TV shows and films on demand, whenever is convenient for them.

In fact, live streaming over the internet is one of the largest online growth areas. And it’s not just TV shows and films that are being delivered to eager customers in their droves – sporting and other live events such as music concerts are being streaming online more now than ever before. This has meant that the audience figures for these events has skyrocketed, giving content owners new and exciting opportunities for reaching potential viewers.

The largest sporting event of the year, the Sochi Winter Olympics, is one such event, and it was inevitable that it would receive the online streaming treatment. NBC, the US television network, had the rights to broadcast the event online in the US, and they chose to leverage the Akamai content delivery network (along with 25 broadcasters worldwide) to bring the two weeks of sporting indulgence to their viewers.

The decision to go with Akamai would have been an easy one for NBC. Having provided streaming services during the London 2012 Olympics and countless other high profile events, the Akamai global network has distinguished itself as one of the most powerful means for delivering content around the globe.

With full high definition streaming over 18 days, the Akamai content delivery network platform delivered over 10.8 million hours of content, to a vast audience that included 2.1 million unique users during the USA vs Canada hockey semi-final. This figure represented a world record for unique authenticated streaming event viewers.

In total, Akamai helped NBC reach 61.8 million viewers, as well as optimising their whole website to enable people to access news about the events quickly and easily. This figure surpasses those achieved during the London Olympics and represents the rising popularity of online video delivery.